Heavy duty shears of the type that are powered by hydraulic cylinders are proving more and more useful in handling scrap and especially metal scrap of all sorts. Such scrap comes in many different forms, and may be in the form of pipes made of steel or soft iron or cast iron, ranging in sizes from 2 inches or smaller, and up to 8 or 10 inches in diameter or larger; structural beams such as I-beams, channels, angle beams in a large range of sizes, up to 8 or 10 inches across and larger; rods and heavy cables having diameters of 2 to 3 inches and larger, metal sheets and plates and formed metal of all sorts including wheels and automobile and truck frames, and a myriad of long and short pieces of stock and metal pieces that are cast, rolled, stamped or otherwise formed, both singly and in various types of assembly.
The prior art has included numerous shears such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,747; U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,721; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,792. Typically, these heavy duty shears mount on the dipper stick of a backhoe so that the shears may be controlled fairly well in handling various types of scrap and cutting the scrap into smaller pieces or lengths.
However, the prior art shears have had numerous disadvantages, not permitting the shear to be used as efficiently and rapidly as may be desired, considering the amount of scrap that must be reduced in size before further processing.